Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-09-29
IOWA CONDENSED ITEMS.

The valleys around Oskaloosa have had
two killing frosts
The Vinton cannery has put up 123,-
600 cans of corn this season.
Twenty-four children haye flown from
the orphans home in Davenport.
The woman's suffrage association will
hold melancholy meeting in Des Moines
October 6 and z.
There are thirty-fve savings banks in
the State, with capital aggregating So, 1885,
693, and surplus of $27S,S SOL.
The Cedar Rapids packing house has
slaughtered $50, 600 to date this season,
falling off, compared with last year Of
$4,000
A. j. Edgerton, of Waterloo, is raising
cotton. He planted the seed quite late
and has fully $50 plants that now contain
cotton balls
Corn is all the rage in Sioux City.
There are corn palaces, corn teas. corn
jewelry, corn feet and considerable
number carry corn in their bootlegs.
1t will probably be long time before
the general government is through with
its settlement with the State, on account
of its old swamp land transactions. When
the government disposed of swamp lands
some years ago, which it had already
granted to Iowa, it got itself into trouble
and it has been trying ever since to get
out. The recent report of the commits
sioner of public lands in Iowa, shows
that the general government has account
cd to the State for 1 sol, 225 acres of those
swamps and overlooked lands, and yet of
the amount Of indemnity awarded on
account of warrant and scrip locations,
there is yet balance of 27,SS2.2S acres
for which the State has received nothing.
The government may be safe in meeting
its obligations. but 1t is most awfuly
slow, and probably another generation
will pass before the swamp land accounts
are Strengthened up.
A recent decision of Judge Given, of
the District Court of Polk county, con-
firms one or two decisions already made
sustaining the constitutionality Of the
new law regarding grand jures. Under
the present code the number of jurors
composing the grand jury has been re-
duced and varies now in different counties
according to their relative population.
Some prisoners, accused of crime, having
no other ground of escape, have been
putting in the plea that they were indict-
cd illegally on the ground that the law
changing the grand jury was unconstitu-
tional. The first reason they give is that
the law is not of uniform application,
varying in different counties. Judge
Given disposes Of that by saying that it
is uniform in its effects for all persons
under the same circumstances or relations
that is within the scope of the county.
The other objection, that it makes the
grand jury to have a different number
from that proposed by the old constitu-
ton, is answered that so long as it is CON-
petent for the legislature to designate
what shall constitute grand jury it can
be of any number which the legislature
may fix The case has not yet been pass
ed upon by the supreme court, but it is
likely that the law will be called unconsti-
tutional If it should be, there would be
a great mess in criminal matters, all the
criminals in the State who have been in
dicted for the past fourteen months hay
ing been indicted by the new style CT
grand jury.
A New Sharon special, Sept. %, says:
The night express train, bound north on
the Central last night, struck Mrs. Mary
Martin, wife of section foreman w. Mar
tin, at Searsboro, nine miles north of this
place, and instantly killed her. She was
almost disembowled. Mrs. Martin was
assisting her husband to drive COW from
the track, and it is supposed she fell
against the train. The engineer states he
did not see the woman, but did see the
COW, which was also killed. -.-...-aa. -.-.
A Mrs Stewart, of Cedar Rapids, was
horribly burned by either an explosion or
the falling of kerosene lamp on the
evening of Sept "a She was over sixty
years old. When the accident occurred
she was assisting a neighbor, Mrs. Kern,
in the care of newborn child. Her
face and body were burned to crisp.
When removed to her daughters home
she lapsed into semi-conscious state
from which, DR.. Ristine says, she can
never arouse. Mrs. Kern narrowly escap-
ed burning. ............ .....----.-,
A Dubuque special, Sept. "a says The
jury in the case of Barney Kennedy on
trial for the past two weeks for thu
murder of his wife, left the court room
this morning at $50 and this evening a
about s o'clock rendered verdict oil
guilty of murder in the first degree anc
fixing the penalty of death by hanging
The law of tie State gives the jury power
to make the penalty either Imprisonment
for life or hanging. But few people were
present when the verdict was brought in
Judge Couch, before whom the case wa:
tried, had left for his home in Waterloo
and Judge Linehan was appointed t.
await the action of the jury. Kennedy
received the verdict without betrayin!
any emotion or offering any comment
He simply remarked, as he was conveyed
to the jail, that it was a fine night, anC
Immediately after said If they hung hin
they would hang an innocent man. Tn,
law provides that he be kept confined
for not less than year nor more thar
fifteen months in the penitentiary afte
sentence of death is pronounced. 1t i
quite certain his attorneys will make al
application for new trial or an appea
to the Supreme Court. The general
verdict is that the sentence is Z
just one. The murder took place on the
night of April 22nd last. but was moi
discovered for two days when the, body
of the unfortunate woman was found il
a field quite distance from the house
the head and neck aterally hacked t
pieces by some instrument afterward
shown TO be chisel. Kennedy stoutl,
denied the crime and sought TO fix it on
others. There has been no execut iol
for murder in this city since 1861.